


You Shine Brighter Than Anyone Does

by HiHannah



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Confessions, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Songfic, bit of angst i guess, cute-ish, inspired by 'brighter' by Paramore, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 02:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3340952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiHannah/pseuds/HiHannah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will has a crush on Nico, then Nico comes out to him, then they both promise to ask out their crush.</p>
<p>Songfic inspired by 'Brighter' by Paramore, as requested by a lovely anon on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Shine Brighter Than Anyone Does

Will was walking around, seemingly without destination. Even he hadn’t realised he was walking towards anything in particular. He found himself standing on the small beach by the lake, looking out over the water. There were some Naiads and Nymphs, a few demigods in canoes. And then some more demigods were diving off a platform they built in a tree right next to the lake.

 

Will looked around once more and noticed the unintended reason of his little stroll around camp; a relatively small, black-haired demigod with a skin that looked far less pale than a week ago. Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, currently the only member of cabin 13, since Hazel was at Camp Jupiter with Frank.

 

Will stood there, watching Nico. He looked the healthiest he’d been since Apollo’s bus crashed in this very lake. From where he was standing, Will couldn’t make out the freckles on Nico’s cheeks, but he knew they were there. He hated the fact he knew the pattern of tiny freckles on the boy’s face. He cursed himself for staring at Nico so much.

_Not now. Please not this time._

He couldn’t have a crush on Nico, he just couldn’t. He had no chance whatsoever. For one, he was pretty damn sure the guy was straight. Second, this was Nico _fucking_ di Angelo he was talking about, he was about as easy to flirt with as a bear trying to protect her children. Nico wouldn’t let anyone get too close. He was always careful about everything he did and said, only Hazel, Reyna, and sometimes Jason, seemed to get past his defence. Everyone else was watched with suspicion and kept at a safe distance. Unfortunately, Will seemed to fit into the category of ‘everyone else’.

Will was pretty sure he had reached a certain level of friendship after those three days Nico had to stay in the infirmary, but it wasn’t nearly enough. He had tried everything; from being all cheery and flirty, to calm, comforting and warm. All of it combined made Nico open up a bit, but only if Will had a reason, often a ‘medical reason’. Will had tried to make small talk, but quickly found out that Nico wasn’t the type for such a thing.

Still, Will never gave up. Over the past week, he had tried to make Nico happy, tried to make him smile. Maybe make him open up slightly. Every smile or smirk he got from him made his heart jump.

_It shouldn’t be this painful. A crush is supposed to be exciting! Why does it hurt so much? I can’t get a crush. I can’t. I’m taking this way too far. I’ve got to stop before it breaks my heart._

Will couldn’t give up. He couldn’t just let go and brush it off like nothing had ever happened. Nico was too damn amazing. He might not believe it, but he’s wonderful. He thinks he doesn’t deserve any friends, but he bloody well does! He is so brave and strong, so absolutely gorgeous... He is an adorable, tiny, Italian boy with a French zombie-driver. His eyes are dark. They’d always been sad, angry and hollow. But now, there is a spark of hope in them. And to Will, it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

_He thinks he’s so alone, so dark. He doesn’t realise he shines the brightest of them all._

 

“Will? What are you doing here?” Nico asked, “Shouldn’t you be in the infirmary?”

“No, I just got off my shift.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Mind if I sit with you for a while?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Will sat down.

_Dammit,_ he thought, _why the hell can’t I just give up on it already? Why do I keep trying? It fucking hurts._

Nico looked like he was somewhere totally different with his mind.

“Nico...are you alright?”

He looked like he was surprised by the question and like he didn’t know what to say.

“Kind of, I guess.”

Will raised one eyebrow.

“I mean, I’m happy here, friends and stuff. Reyna, Jason... my sister... Annabeth, Frank and Percy- well, kind of... and you, of course. But I don’t have a place here, no purpose.”

“Of course you do,” Will said while he tried to ignore the way his heart jumped and fell at the same time when Nico called him a friend, “you’re here to be happy and make us happy.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Maybe you could... teach the younger kids how to fight? Or... I don’t know, maybe you could be my assistant.”

“What, like a nurse?”

“I guess.”

“You’re bloody ridiculous.”

“Thanks.”

“Alright.”

“What?”

“I said ‘alright’. I’ll help you in the infirmary.”

“You really want to be my nurse?”

“I’m starting to change my mind.”

“I mean assistant, of course. Or maybe ‘healer in training’?”

“Less terrible, I’ll do it.”

“That’s fantastic! Come with me, I’ll show you around!” Will grabbed Nico’s hand and started to drag him away from the lake.

“What? No! I didn’t mean right now!”

“Shut up, Zombie Breath, you’re under my command now.”

“Fuck you!”

“I fucking dare you.”

“That’s NOT what I meant!”

Nico blushed furiously, Will felt his own cheeks get red as well.

“I- me neither. Ahum, let’s get going, shall we?”

“You already dragged me this far, might as well go all the way.”

“And _I_ make suggestive comments...”

“Ugh, I hate you.”

Will had to put every last bit of willpower into forcing himself to let go of Nico’s hand.

“Follow me, Sunshine.”

“You’re the sunshine here, _Sunshine_.”

“Oooh, I’ve got my very own nickname!”

“Well, yeah, next to ‘annoying arrogant flirty dickhead’.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” _Flirty, Nico thinks I’m flirty. Is that a good thing?_

“It wasn’t.”

“I don’t care, Death Boy.”

 

Will showed Nico the different closets and storage rooms, the rooms for the patients, the office and the other essential things like the bathroom, shower and fridge. Then he explained the way they kept track of all the patients and their issues, therapy, treatment and progress of recovery. Then he showed him the schedule.

“So if you’re gonna be _my_ assistant, nurse, healer in training, whatever- you’ll have to take the afternoon and evening shift on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. The morning and afternoon shift on Wednesday and Friday. And the Saturday evening and night shift. That’s why I’m never at breakfast on Sundays, I’m asleep.”

“You work that much?”

“Yep.”

“Any breaks?”

“Yeah, but they tend to be short on a busy day.”

“Okay.”

“What?”

“I’ll help you during your shifts.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Awesome.”

 

Will was torn between ‘this is absolutely bloody amazing’ and ‘this is the worst fucking disaster to possibly happen to my heart’.

On one hand, he’d spend more time with Nico.

On the other hand, he’d spend more time with Nico.

He would be with him a lot, so he could watch him and talk to him and feel all of those stupid butterflies. But he might get distracted, and it will hurt like hell, of course. He’d feel that terrible mixture of butterflies, excitement, self-hatred, sadness, heart-wrenching nervousness and anxiety. But if it made Nico happy, he’d do it. That boy deserved a little love, even if it was a platonic kind of love. Nico needed to know he was worth something. That he wasn’t as much of an outcast as he thought he was. That even though he thinks he’s dark and scary, to Will, he shines as bright as the sun. Which is a very ironic thing to say for Will, as he is the son of Apollo. Well, Apollo would probably appreciate his poetic way of seeing and describing Nico. Although he might prefer a haiku.

_I just wish I wouldn’t have a crush. Not this time, not Nico._

Will didn’t want to risk this friendship. It was still developing and growing, and right now it was just too fragile to make a move. All he could do was drop little hints, flirt a bit, but not too much. _Try to get closer, but not too close and not too fast. Try to open up and get Nico to open up, but don’t open too wide. Try to make him feel loved but don’t be too clingy or push too hard._

It was all so complicated.

 

“Will?”

“Hm?”

“You’ve been staring at the wall for like four minutes straight, you haven’t even blinked once. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“That’s my excuse.”

“What, you claimed ‘I’m fine’?”

“Yeah, that’s what I say when I’m nowhere near ‘fine’ but I don’t wanna talk about it. It’s mine.”

“Oh.”

“So what’s the matter?”

“Nothing, I’m alri-”

“No.”

“I-”

“No.”

Will sighed.

“Heartbreak,” Nico muttered.

“What?”

“Heartbreak. And confusion. Pain, sadness, fear, little bit of hope. In your eyes, Will, I can see it. Your heart is slowly being crushed.”

“How do you-”

“Told you. It’s your eyes.”

“You can see all of that... in my eyes?”

“I know what it looks like.”

Will gave him a questioning look.

“I used to see it in every mirror.”

Will sighed, “I fucking hate Aphrodite.”

“I can’t stand her either, but Cupid is the absolute worst.”

“Cupid?”

“Yeah, I met him in Croatia once.”

“What’s he like?”

“He looks like Death.”

“Well that’s unexpected.”

“No, I mean, he looks like Death. Capital ‘D’. He looks like Thanatos.”

“Oh.”

“He’s terrifying. He’s nothing like the cute little baby with the pink bow and heart-shaped arrows. He’s much like a raging fire, or a blinding light.  
A storm of every emotion that comes from the heart, including the anger, self-hatred, blame, fear, anxiety, insecurity and pain.  
He is the embodiment of the feeling you get when you crush your own hope, when you dismiss your feelings and over-think the person’s behaviour.  
But he’s also that same hope you try to break, and the light that keeps you going.  
He’s the fire that tells you not to give up, but burns you up from the inside out.  
He is one big storm of confusion.”

“That sounds terrible. And when you met him... what happened?”

“I- He... Okay, here’s what happened. Jason and I had to get the sceptre, we came across Cupid.  
He... forced me to face something I thought I already left behind. I thought I gave up, I thought I was over it. But I wasn’t.  
Well, not really. I was over the _person_ , over the _crush._ It was myself I had to face, my... kind of love.  
I couldn’t, because Jason was there too, and I was afraid. But I had to, because admitting it was the only way to conquer Cupid. So I did. I started to tell Cupid, but Jason had already figured it out.  
After Cupid was gone, he convinced me it was completely okay, but it wasn’t really.  
All my life I have been told it was unnatural, it was the work of the devil, it was a choice, an illness. I refused to accept myself, refused to admit that this is who I am.  
It was one of the reasons I was always an outcast, and one of the reasons I ran away. I was afraid. Scared of my powers and what I could do, scared of my feelings, scared of being rejected and told to go away. So I ran away before anyone else got the chance to do it.  
But after Cupid, after Jason had accepted me, it became easier for me to come to terms with it as well.  
I think I’m okay with it now, but not totally comfortable, you know?  
And now I’m afraid it’s happening again, and I try to distance myself from it, but I can’t seem to manage that. I can’t get away and I can’t give up. I’m crushing, _again_.  
I just wish it wouldn’t happen now, not this time, not this person.  
I’m still trying to convince myself I can just let go and run away, it’s not like it could ever even work. I should just get out while I still have the chance. I should go away, run off into the night.  
But I can’t. I’ve got a home here, and at Camp Jupiter. I’ve got friends. I can’t just abandon them, not again. I wish I could hide away from everything. Forever. But I also don’t want to leave. I’m confused and scared. So I think I know how you feel.  
I honestly don’t know why I’m telling you all this, while I’m trying to be distant. I guess I just needed to get it out and I just confessed nearly everything to you.  
I feel like I should regret it, but I don’t. At least not as much as I expected to.  
I’m sorry, I’m probably not making any sense.”

“So you’re- What you’re saying is that you are... gay?”

Nico flinched at the word. “I’m sorry,” his voice almost broke, “I’ll go now.”

“Stop, Nico, don’t go. Please?”

“What?”

“I want to tell you that it’s perfectly fine. It’s completely accepted at camp. There are many queer kids.  
There’s a bisexual girl from Demeter, a trans Hecate boy, two gay boys from Nike, a pansexual girl from Aphrodite, and a bisexual boy too. Aphrodite even has a biromantic asexual girl.  
There’s a non-binary Hephaestus kid, goes by they/them pronouns, I think.  
Hephaestus has a trans girl as well, and a pansexual boy.  
The Hermes Cabin is full of queers. If I remember correctly, there are three lesbians, an asexual, a poly-amorous, a demi-romantic, a gay guy and a genderfluid kid.  
And Apollo’s got a lot of LGBTQA folks as well: two bisexual kids, a poly-amorous girl, an a-gender kid and of course: the gayest gay to ever gay, yours truly.”

“What, you’re gay too?”

“Yes, I am. What I’m saying is that it’s totally okay.”

“Really?”

“I’m 100% sure.”

Nico smiled. Will’s heart flipped over.

“Thank you.”

“No problem, man. If anyone has a problem with you, I’m gonna fucking fight them.”

“I trust you,” Nico said. It looked as if his whole body was smiling, his eyes were shining so bright, Apollo would’ve been jealous. And Will knew there was no way he was going to get over this crush. Not with Nico’s _stupid_ Italian accent, his annoyingly adorable eyes, the way he could make Will’s heart race when he smiled like that. So genuine, so _real_. Will had definitely fallen, and he couldn’t get out.

“But I don’t think we’re finished yet,” Nico said.

“What?”

“I told you the story of my broken heart and hollow soul, you helped me and made me smile. I think we only got to the subject because you were sad. Tell me.”

“I fell in love. Deep, deep in love. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it this time, I’ve never fallen so hard. At first I didn’t even know if he liked boys, but he came out to me very recently. I still don’t think he likes me, though. Since he came out by telling me a story, and then he told me he’s got a new crush. And I’m like 90% sure it’s not me. So I’m quite hopeless.”

“Have you asked him?” Nico’s voice sounded less excited and more forced than just a minute ago, but maybe it was just Will’s imagination.

“No, not yet.”

“Are you going to?”

“Maybe...”

“You’ve got to tell him, ask him out. You never know what the answer might be. I may not have much experience, but I’ve seen it happen.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“When?”

“I don’t know...”

“Today. Do it today.”

“What makes you the love expert?”

“I’m not, I’m just trying to help.”

“Well... alright, I’ll ask him today.”

“Good luck,” Nico said. And Will wondered why he sounded sad. What was going on? Oh, right, Nico had a crush too.

“Thanks. But you’ve got to promise to ask your crush out today as well.”

“But-”

“Is he straight?”

“No, it’s not that...”

“Does he have a boyfriend?”

“No...”

“Does he love someone else?”

“I think so.”

“Then we’re in the same boat. But I’m gonna do it, and so are you.”

“Why?”

“Because I say so. You never know what the answer might be, to put it your way.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes, Di Angelo. Doctor’s orders.”

Nico sighed, “Alright.”

They shook hands.

“But ehm, maybe you wanna hang out for a little more? Let’s go to the lake again. The sun is setting, so it’ll be beautiful.”

“Sure.”

 

They were sitting by the lake. There was hardly anyone there anymore, only a few Naiads and Nymphs, and two kids in canoes.

“Will?”

“Hm.”

“Can I ask you something?”

_Oh my gods!_

Then he reminded himself to keep thinking rationally.

_Chill, you twat! Of course he’s not gonna ask you out. Be cool._

“Sure, Nico, fire away.”

“What’s the best way of asking a guy out on a date? And what kind of date?”

“Depends on what he likes. I mean, I like picnics and sunsets and lazy afternoons, fruit, sweets, just hanging out, really.  
But some guys like sports, and then you could ask him out for a day of games and contests.  
As for how to ask him out... Just ask him, really. You just gotta go for it.  
Tell him how he makes you feel, what you like about him, maybe hint to the future... Compliment him, make him feel special. Be yourself, and be honest. Smile, relax, it’s all fine.  
It’s okay to be nervous, he’ll understand. He’ll be flattered, of course, and he might say ‘yes’.  
There’s always a chance he doesn’t want to, but that’s the problem with love, you’ve got to take risks if you want to get further.”

“You’re so poetic.”

“It’s in my blood.”

“But you can’t sing?”

“Nope. Can’t shoot an arrow either. I’m not good at things like basketball or anything. My talents are healing and poetry, and I can draw. Pretty lame, I know.”

“I don’t think it’s lame.”

“Thanks.”

“Really, I think you’re... the opposite of lame. You’re really cool. And... tall. I like your hair, too. And your freckles.”

_Is he doing what I think he’s doing?_

“During the first days of being back at camp, you were the only thing that kept me in this world.  
I can’t thank you enough for that. You never pushed me away or treated me as a scary outcast.  
Even though I kind of hate love, I think loving you could be worth the pain and fear, because you make me smile.”

_Yup, he’s doing it._

“You were the first to put things in perspective for me, about just how common it actually was to be ‘a queer kid’.  
I wanted to never fall in love again, because love has made me feel like utter shit for _years_.  
But I couldn’t help it. I fell, and with every second I fall deeper, harder. I kept thinking ‘no, please not now, not this time’.  
But you made me promise to ask my crush out. And even though I’m like 99% sure you’ve fallen for another guy, I’m asking you out on a date.  
So, yeah. Would you go on a picnic with me tomorrow afternoon?”

_I mean I could say yes, but I promised to ask my crush out too. Yeah, I’m gonna do that, might scare him a bit. Good for the nerves._

“Nico, I’m gonna tell you something, alright? Don’t worry, nothing bad. Okay, here it goes.” Will cleared his throat.

“Nico, you are not as scary as you think people think you are. You are not half as weird or lonely as you told me you believed you are. You said you were dark and hollow.  
But I never believed that. I have always thought you were wonderful. Out of all those amazing, talented demigods, you are the best.  
You shine brighter than anyone does.  
I love your accent, your eyes, your hands and your nose. You’re really, really amazing.  
I love you. Of course I’ll go on a picnic with you. Can I get a hug?”

Nico threw his arms around Will, who was a little surprised at first, but quickly recollected himself and hugged Nico back. They let go after a little while, Nico pressed a quick kiss on Will’s cheek. He blushed like crazy, and Will could feel his cheeks were hot as well.

“I love you,” Nico whispered.

“I love you too,” Will whispered back.


End file.
